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Deep Purple

Deep Purple was one of the first Hard Rock bands, and would later become one of the most famous heavy metal bands.

They were formed in 1968 as Roundabout, consisting of Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on hammond organ, Chris Curtis on vocals, Dave Curtis on bass and Bobby Woodman on drums. After only a month of rehearsals, Blackmore and Lord would be the only two remaining members, bringing in vocalist Rod Evans, bassist Nick Simper and drummer Ian Paice. In April, the band would change its name to Deep Purple.

After three albums and extensive touring in the states, it was the inclusion of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover that created the essential Deep Purple line-up Mark II, that was reunited two times. This version of the group released the highly influential and successful albums Deep Purple In Rock and Machine Head (the latter featuring their most famous song, "Smoke on the Water"), and the live album Made in Japan.

Members:

Deep Purple Mark I (April 1968 - June 1969)

Deep Purple Mark IIa (June 1969 - 30 June 1973) Deep Purple Mark III (October 1973 - 5 April 1975) Deep Purple Mark IV (1975 - July 1976 (last gig was March 15 1976)) Deep Purple Mark IIb (reunion) (April 1984 - April 1989) Same lineup as Mk II above.

Deep Purple Mark V (Autumn 1989 - Autumn 1992)

Deep Purple Mark IIc (re-reunion) (Autumn 1992 - 17 November 1993) Same lineup as Mk II above.

Deep Purple Mark VI (2. December 1993 - July 1994)

This is the only non-recording lineup.

Deep Purple Mark VII (November 1994 - February 2002)

Deep Purple Mark VIII (March 2002 - present) Discography:

Mk I

Mk IIa Mk III Mk IV Mk IIb Mk V Mk IIc Mk VII Mk VIII

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